Apalachee shooting victims’ families file suits as anniversary marks legal deadline

“It’s not about money. It’s about accountability,” Mike Puglise, an attorney for the families of two students who were shot, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s not so much to put a thumb in someone’s eye. Our children are our greatest treasure, and we have to protect them any way we can.”

The Barrow County School System declined to comment on the lawsuits Friday but provided a statement to the AJC about the community’s recovery. It said that the students and teachers shot, and “all who are hurting and healing” are “forever held with care in our hearts.”

It added: “We remain focused on the well-being of our students, staff, and families, while working together with our community to ensure a safe and supportive learning environment for all.”

Rehberg, who participated in a commemorative event Thursday at the state Capitol, did not immediately respond Friday to inquiries about the lawsuits.

Colt Gray, the teenage shooter who pleaded guilty in July and was sentenced to life in prison without parole, is also named as a defendant in six of the civil cases, as are his parents, Colin and Marcee Gray.

The father, who bought his son the gun used in the shooting and who authorities have said ignored warning signs, was found guilty in March of second-degree murder and other charges and was sentenced in late July to 15 years in prison.

Lawyers for Colt and Colin Gray did not immediately respond Friday to inquiries about the lawsuits.

Marcee Gray, who was not prosecuted in relation to the shooting, did not immediately comment Friday on the civil allegations.

Colt Gray and his parents are also liable for his actions under negligence claims, the lawsuits allege.

The complaints were filed over the deaths of students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo and teacher Richard “Ricky” Aspinwall as well as the nonfatal shooting of four students, still minors.

The husband of Ana Cristina Irimie, the other teacher killed in the shooting, did not immediately respond Friday to an inquiry about whether he’s pursuing claims in relation to her death.

In Georgia, most injury lawsuits must be filed within two years of the related incident.

Puglise, who represents the Schermerhorn family and the family of a minor student seriously injured by gunfire, said they waited until now to sue because they did not want to interfere with the criminal cases against Colt and Colin Gray.

He said it’s now time for all those responsible for the shooting, including school administrators, to “come forth and account for their errors.”

In their complaint, the parents of Christian Angulo said the defendants knew or should have known that Colt Gray was likely to commit a mass school shooting, citing his obsession with school shooters and access to guns and ammunition, among other things.

Jose and Emma Angulo alleged that on the morning of the shooting, more than an hour before it began, a teacher at Apalachee High School alerted other staff that Colt Gray may have brought a gun to school, based on his suspicious behavior and strange-looking backpack. The parents said school staff then talked with Marcee Gray, who confirmed her son’s access to guns and school shooter fascination.

“Despite that actual knowledge or constructive knowledge, Defendant Rehberg and other Barrow County School System officials negligently failed to initiate a hard lockdown before the shooting began and therefore breached their mandatory, ministerial duty,” the parents’ lawsuit says.

Attorneys for the Angulo family declined to comment Friday.

Similar allegations are made in the other lawsuits.

Puglise said many of the details of what happened at the school that day, including the teacher’s warning, were publicly revealed during Colin Gray’s trial.

Marcee Gray testified during the trial that, on the morning of the attack, she received screenshots of worrisome texts Colin Gray had received from their son, and she told the court she called the school and spoke to the guidance counselor, the AJC previously reported.

The lawsuits further claim that school staff unsuccessfully tried to find Colt Gray before he started shooting, and that he was able to access a classroom after a lockdown had been initiated because the classroom door was unlocked.

In her case, Breanna Schermerhorn seeks at least $1 million in damages for the loss of her son.

Other cases do not specify the amount of damages sought.